Does Draco have a Dark Mark?

[birdsofshore]

I posted about this new illustration for HBP the other day and it has given me many many Draco thoughts and feels.



Some of the replies with regard to Draco's Dark Mark really surprised me and I want to discuss this ahead of JKR possibly clarifying it in Pottermore. My general assumption from canon is that Draco did take the Dark Mark some time before 6th year, probably at the same time that he was given the task of killing Dumbledore.

My reasons for thinking this are:

1) This scene in Madam Malkin's (from HBP):

Madam Malkin dithered for a moment on the spot, then seemed to decide to act as though nothing was happening in the hope that it wouldn't. She bent towards Malfoy, who was still glaring at Harry.

"I think this left sleeve could come up a little bit more, dear, let me just--"

"Ouch!" bellowed Malfoy, slapping her hand away, "watch where you're putting your pins, woman! Mother -- I don't think I want these any more--"

He pulled the robes over his head and threw them on the floor at Madam Malkin's feet.

2) This scene in Borgin and Burkes (also from HBP):

Harry saw Borgin lick his lips nervously.

"Well, without seeing it, I must say it will be a very difficult job, perhaps impossible. I couldn't guarantee anything."

"No?" said Malfoy, and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering. "Perhaps this will make you more confident."

He moved towards Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.

"Tell anyone," said Malfoy, "and there will be retribution."

chibitoaster said in comments to my last post that JKR said in an interview with her editor that Draco did not take the Mark, but I can't find anything to back this up by googling. Can anyone provide a reference for this?

If JKR did say this (or says it on Pottermore in her upcoming Draco entry), then I'm not sure what to think. It just doesn't make sense to me from the information that we have in canon.

Possible explanations if JKR confirms Draco was not Marked:

- We are supposed to take Harry's conviction that Draco has a Mark as further evidence for Harry's penchant for thinking Draco is up to something. But, it really does look like he has a Dark Mark; it's not just Harry being obsessive (not this time, heh).

- JKR wanted to deliberately mislead us into thinking Draco has a Mark, to confuse us about how deep in he is with Voldemort. (cf Snape). But this is pointless, because she never uses this confusion to achieve anything within the text. It's not like we suspect that Draco is Marked and then later we find out he's not, and it's a great shock to learn actually he's been working for Dumbledore the whole time or something.

- Draco drew on a FAKE Dark Mark and used it to scare Borgin. I really like this theory, and I can totally see Draco doing this. He wants the power and protection that being a Death Eater brings, but he can't actually bring himself to kill anyone or take the Mark (or perhaps Voldemort did not think him worthy of the Mark). It makes my heart twist for him, so if this was the aim, I like it. But, again, this is sort of pointless, because JKR never reveals that it's fake in canon, so it doesn't have the desired effect. It's a nice theory, but it doesn't really work.

- JKR did initially mean Draco to have a Dark Mark, but later changed her mind for ~reasons. I'm afraid this is what I'm probably going to assume, if she is quoted as saying Draco never took the Mark.

Obviously, in the film version, Draco does have a Mark and when I looked at an earlier sketch for the new illustration, it seemed to be very much influenced by this moment in the HBP film.






I know JKR didn't have ultimate control over what happened in the films, but I presume she did veto anything she was really uncomfortable with? The fact that Draco is Marked in the films suggests to me that JKR was happy with that premise.

However, the fact that the sketch for the new book illustrations has changed from Draco aggressively displaying his Dark Mark, to Draco (possibly) hiding a Mark, is interesting. It seems pretty clear to me that that's what he's doing in the new illustration - why else would be be clutching at his left forearm like that? But at the same time it's not as unambiguous as the sketch would have been.

I presume again that JKR has approval over things like illustrations, but does anyone know this to be the case? Jonny Duddle's other finished pieces are more or less identical to his initial sketches - this seems to be the only one where there has been a significant change, which suggests to me some editorial intervention. If JKR did have input, this would back up the idea that she wants the issue of Draco being Marked / unMarked to remain ambiguous. And, rereading the passages from the Half-Blood Prince, I feel this is what she's aiming for. She likes the possibility of it, but she doesn't want to definitely confirm it. Why? I don't really get it. Why not confirm that Draco either is or is not Marked during the series? I do tend to be a reader who likes things quite black and white, but I can't see what this uncertainty adds to the series, or our appreciation of Draco's character.

Finally (if you made it this far), I have to own to having a vested interest in Draco being Marked. I really like the Dark Mark and what I can do with it in fic. I like Harry having a Dark Mark kink. Or being appalled by it the first time they get naked. I like a redeemed!Draco being ashamed of it. Similarly, I like a dark!Draco who uses it to intimidate or unsettle. I like it if they're getting romantic and he accidentally flashes it and Harry SEES and REACTS and Draco ASSUMES and FREAKS and, oh, there are just so many fabulous possibilities for Dark Marks. Please don't take them away from me, JKR. /o\

I'd be interested to hear thoughts about any of this. Especially as I am meant to be cleaning and tidying. Please save me from that extremely dull fate and come and hypothesise with me instead.

Comments

[birdsofshore]

I see not specifying his marked status as feeding into that

I can get that, definitely. I suppose I just want her to have the courage of her convictions. It's like, she wants us to think he's Marked. She wants Harry to think he is. But she wants to leave it open, to not be definite about it. I think what made me feel irritated by it was the realisation that, having left it open, she could now come back and say, "oh no, he wasn't Marked at all." I dislike this possibility intensely, for some reason.

If he's unmarked - I adore the headcanon of him drawing the mark on his arm to intimidate people with. It goes along with the "hasn't realized he's in over his head" are Draco of the earlier books

Yes, I like it too! And it would explain why he doesn't get caught with the Mark at any other time in the books. But I don't actually think that's what JKR intended. Could work really well in a fic, though.

[birdsofshore]

Canon is canon -- the heavy insinuations are there -- Draco has a Dark Mark. (That's my read of it, and it won't change from Pottermore or anything else she says about it.)

I think that's more or less how I feel, too!

I realised when we were discussing it on the previous post that JKR *could* come along and say, oh no, he wasn't. This set off this whole crisis of Dark Mark thoughts! I adore Draco having a Mark! Except of course, when I can't be bothered to write it in, and I presume he hasn't got one or it's faded out of existence ;)

[birdsofshore]

Yes, you've got a point, and, also, Hermione *doesn't* think Draco has a Mark, if I remember correctly? Which probably should tell us a thing or two... but why put in those heavy insinuations at all, without any clear alternative explanation, if he's not Marked?

[birdsofshore]

Did Draco need to be marked to agree to his task? Did he not? How much was coercion and how much was just Draco?

Yes, I think you made your point perfectly, and I'm as convinced as I can be of the benefits of her leaving it ambiguous. It just annoys me a little, if I'm honest. I don't like the way Draco is written in one way (IMO) in the books and then interpreted in a different way (again IMO) by JKR in interviews and so on. I would prefer it to be down in black and white in the text so I know where I stand!

[eidheann_writes]

I've always considered the books canon and everything else is like "oh that's nice" but for the most part ignore it.

But I don't do Pottermore for that reason. XD

[birdsofshore]

Yes, Draco is definitely a Death Eater - that's confirmed a few times - but it seems not all DEs get the Mark. I think Regulus was 16 when he became a DE? I wonder if he got the Mark at the same time?

I think he is Marked but I don't think, unless it's set HBP or DH, it actually makes a HUGE difference. It would just be another scar. ETA: At most. It's possible it wouldn't show at all.

Yes, I know you're probably right. JKR said in an interview that the Marks would just fade with time. I prefer it to show up - for all of the reasons I stated in my post - but it seems, sticking to canon, it's more accurate if it's barely-there. Shame ;)

I think you're absolutely right about the film/book canon. I wonder where the artist got the idea from in the first place - surely the films? And I can see that being corrected as "not something that ever happens in the books." But to change it to Draco clutching at his forearm, apparently hiding or protecting it, definitely seems very provocative if what we're saying is that JKR doesn't want to tell us whether he's Marked or not.

[birdsofshore]

Absolutely! I enjoy reading about what the latest info is, but if it doesn't agree with my head canon, I try to just delete it afterwards. ;)

I'm worried about the Draco info, though. It's going to hit a little harder, whatever it is.

[birdsofshore]

I didn't know that about the redness - I suppose red could be fainter than black - kind of... *dubious*

[birdsofshore]

This is why I think the illustrator ultimately went with an image of Draco where - again - we can suspect he is clutching his arm because he had taken the Mark but we have no ultimate proof.

Ugh, that frustrates me for some reason! I just find it so tricksy to keep HINTING at it but leave canon open so that she could, either this week, or at some point in 10 years or whenever, say, Oh NO, Draco never got the Mark.

The Dark Mark is a sign of honour, an initiation into the inner circle of the Death Eaters. I cannot imagine Voldemort would bestow this honour to Draco right after Lucius has failed to secure the prophecy for him. It would more sense that Voldemort promised Draco aka the Malfoys that he would get the Dark Mark once he killed Dumbledore.

I can see your argument, totally, but then Narcissa sees it as a punishment that Draco's been selected, doesn't she? And Narcissa doesn't have a Dark Mark herself... I'm not convinced she'd want Draco to have one. I think you could argue that both Draco's task, and giving him a Dark Mark, could be twisted retribution from Voldemort, as easily as it could be a reward for loyalty.

Which still leaves us with an ambiguous canon that we can play around with whichever way we please.

Yes, that's the joy of it! I don't take Pottermore as canon, but I still feel pretty anxious about what's to come, though. *clings to you*

[birdsofshore]

I had a good search but didn't turn it up yet. I would also have expected it to be picked up on more widely if she'd been so clear about it at some point.

[birdsofshore]

I think she was, the tricksy mare! I do love her skill with ambiguous scenes, my favourite being Dumbledore's death, but for some reason this particular one frustrates me. I think because it's never resolved in canon, and perhaps I prefer loose ends to be more tied up.

When I looked back at the scenes from HBP, and also this new illustration as compared to the original sketch, it did seem quite clear that ambiguity was the aim all along.

[birdsofshore]

Yes and yes. I can get behind both of those things.

[birdsofshore]

It's not at all useless. I like reading people saying they don't mind too much either way; it's calming me down! I don't want to feel all disgruntled and anxious about it.

[birdsofshore]

Yes, I'd prefer if it was left ambiguous, I think. I do see the benefits for it.

Poor old R/S shippers! That was a blow for them.

[blithelybonny.livejournal.com]

<3!

[birdsofshore]

I think Draco's being Marked had nothing to do with him as a Death Eater -- it was a way to punish his parents.

Yes, I was wondering about that possibility upthread. I think Narcissa sees the whole thing as a punishment: Draco's task, and presumably if he was Marked, too.

we never see the Mark in the book, so why should it be on the cover?

Yes, I wasn't surprised they changed the initial sketch - more that it was changed to another drawing which also seemingly depicts Draco being Marked. One could say "ah, but we can't SEE he's Marked in that final illustration", and that's true, but what the fuck else is he doing if not hiding / protecting his Dark Mark, in that picture? If JKR truly wanted it ambiguous I would have expected a completely different portrayal that was nothing to do with his arm, do you know what I mean?

(I love Draco's Dark Mark more than I probably should.)

*joins your gang*
Yup. It's so wrong when *Harry* likes it, too ;)

[birdsofshore]

I think the Dark Mark could be a punishment, definitely. Voldemort knows his power games unsettle people, cf taking Lucius' wand. I think his branding someone with a painful tattoo which makes them do his bidding is not merely a sign that he regards you as worthy...

[disapparater.livejournal.com]

Death Eaters *are* Marked so JKR saying Draco is actually a Death Eater would mean he was Marked.

I don't mean to be pernickity, but JKR isn't necessarily saying Draco is a Death Eater. She says, "how else would you become a Death Eater?" which could mean Draco was simple aspiring to be a Death Eater.

All i mean to say is, it's still very ambiguous.

[birdsofshore]

I mean, Draco's wearing a shirt under his robes so there was no real danger of his Mark being revealed in the first scene, and in the second there's no reason Voldemort couldn't have given Draco some kind of token or letter - it doesn't have to be the Mark.

I agree we can explain those two scenes away (especially the first one) but do you honestly think that JKR wasn't trying to make the reader think Harry's suspicions were correct?

In my previous post people were talking about an interview where JKR confirmed Draco wasn't Marked. I'd never heard of that one before.

[birdsofshore]

I think there are so many possibilities, it's a very intriguing topic. It was interesting for me because I thought that everyone was more or less of one mind about it, but then after my last post I realised there was quite a breadth of opinion, which is always fun :)

[torino10154]

I do agree that it's still ambiguous because it's never explicitly stated in canon. But there is a lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest he is a DE/Marked.

And though it's not canon, that quote is what both HP_Lexicon and the HP Wiki cite to assign Draco the status of Death Eater.

[birdsofshore]

I expect you are right about Draco not daring to fake a Mark... I just liked the idea, the pathos of it really, that Draco might be desperate / foolish enough to try to fake what he hasn't dared / managed to achieve in RL!

[birdsofshore]

I heard one of her interviews, maybe one of her Leaky ones, where she was asked and she quietly said that, yes, Draco had taken the mark. Then she quickly moved on like she didn't want to spend a lot of time talking about it.

That's interesting! We can't find any confirmation of JKR agreeing Draco had a Mark, so I'd love to find a transcript or other reference to that.

I agree, it seems Draco could have done a lot worse for himself in the epilogue. I remember an interview JKR gave where she said that Draco tries to be a good dad, as well, and avoids repeating the same olf mistakes with Scorpius. ♥

[pauraque]

I was going to say basically the same thing before I read your comment — that leaving it ambiguous could be a way of emphasizing his own ambivalent feelings, and subtly point to the fact that he is not as fully committed to Voldemort as a Marked status would imply.

[onthecount.livejournal.com]

I am DREADING JKR's new thoughts on Draco tbh. I don't see how anything she has to say will be enriching to the corner of very comfortable and gay fanon we've eked out for ourselves.

I feel like Voldemort marking Draco is a way of getting him amped about his task, and like. He's 16! He's stoked!!! He's going to prove himself, he's been given this incredible opportunity to prove his worth to his father's cause/boss and he's oozing confidence and independence. And at the same time, Voldemort marking Draco is a way of telling Lucius he fucked up so hard and now he's basically out of commission? And Voldemort is just gonna take Draco in his place.

But! There's more textual evidence (in the books! extraneous canon is just that—extraneous) that we cant say for sure than there is for him either having it or not having it. But I don't think it's completely incidental that it's Draco's left arm in Madam Malkin's, or that Draco shows Borgin something that is both easily accessible and terrifying. I doubt it's something like a letter or a photo? The Dark Mark seems like the most likely option. I also think Harry's intuition when it comes to Draco is less of a reason to discount his suspicions than people want it to be? He's not wrong about Draco being a Death Eater and I don't think he's wrong about Draco having the dark mark either. There's the issue of the barrier put up on the astronomy tower (and this is, canonically, a speculation) that only allows Death Eaters through. The fact that Draco goes through with Snape after Snape has AK'd Dumbledore, and Snape dispels the enchantment, can be used to argue that Draco isn't marked, HOWEVER, I doubt that was The Plan, so Draco would have had to be able to get through it.

I like Draco having the dark mark post-war as a reminder of what he's done? Like sure it was essentially a hostage situation and he was a child inundated with his family's bigotry, but he still did harm, and I think him having a scar that shows that is honestly good for him and his humility and growth as a person, and is also a great parallel between Harry and Draco.